Class Toolsis a great resource which allows teachers to create free educational activities, games, graphical organizers and diagrams. This site is easy-to-use and allows the user to either select a template to use, or search for ideal templates based on specific school subjects. No user-name or password is required on this website, and the user may simply copy and paste the links they wish to use with their students or embed them in a separate source. The website also showcases examples of work published by other teachers. The game which I chose to use to specifically create a RLA activity is called the Dustbin Game. When opening up the template for this game, the teacher is given the choice of creating up to four categories for which they wish for students to classify words into. The teacher must then simply list the words to be classified under the correct heading. When the student opens up this game, they are asked to place each word which pops up into the corresponding "dustbin." In my particular example, I have created a game to help RLA students work on reviewing how singular nouns change when they become plural. I chose to highlight four particular ways in which these nouns can change, although other exceptions also apply. Students are given a singular noun, and asked to place it into the correct dustbin. They must determine if, to make the noun plural, an "s" is added, an "es" is added, the "y" is dropped and "ies" is added, or the noun remains the same. This game also gives student's immediate feedback, which allows them to work on this game independently. A number of other tools on this website would also be very helpful in a RLA classroom. Venn diagrams can be used, for example, to allow students to compare and contrast different stories or characters. Teachers can also create an animated book, ask students to create a timeline, use a priority chart to list important factors of a story, or use a "hamburger diagram" to show how writing can flow. The possibilities of this site are endless and, as demonstrated, there are a plethora of ways to apply these activities in a RLA classroom.
Quizletis an online tool which focusing on allowing teachers to create online flash cards for use within their classrooms in many subject areas. However, these flashcards are not ordinary flashcards, but rather they have a variety of uses. Students are able to work their way through a series of interactivities as they learn the phrases on these flashcards. For example, in the link listed above, I have created flashcards to allow students to review some prefixes and suffixes and their meanings. Students can begin familiarizing themselves with these flashcards by simply flipping them back and forth, the can begin learning the flashcards by guessing the prefix or suffix which matches the meaning, and finally they can test their knowledge in short answer, multiple choice, or true-false questions. There are also a couple of games that students may play to enhance their engagement in learning these words including a "Scatter" game and a "Space Race." These games can be challenging but are great reviews and motivators for students. These flashcards are easy to create, and may be shared with a group online, such as a group of your students. To create flashcards, a username and password must be created, but the process is quite simplistic. No user-name or password is required to view these cards. There are a variety of ways which this could be used in a RLA classroom. This could be used to assist students are they are reviewing concepts for an upcoming test or quiz, such as a spelling test. Additionally, they can be used to review how words changes, for example, how does a word’s spelling change from its singular form when it becomes plural? (See ClassTools example above.) Another example as to how this game could be used could be to help students determine the part of speech of different words. There are a number of possibilities and the creation of these flashcards can be done in just a few quick minutes!
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Web 2.0 Tool #1: Class Tools
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(Direct Link to Game)
Class Tools is a great resource which allows teachers to create free educational activities, games, graphical organizers and diagrams. This site is easy-to-use and allows the user to either select a template to use, or search for ideal templates based on specific school subjects. No user-name or password is required on this website, and the user may simply copy and paste the links they wish to use with their students or embed them in a separate source. The website also showcases examples of work published by other teachers. The game which I chose to use to specifically create a RLA activity is called the Dustbin Game. When opening up the template for this game, the teacher is given the choice of creating up to four categories for which they wish for students to classify words into. The teacher must then simply list the words to be classified under the correct heading. When the student opens up this game, they are asked to place each word which pops up into the corresponding "dustbin." In my particular example, I have created a game to help RLA students work on reviewing how singular nouns change when they become plural. I chose to highlight four particular ways in which these nouns can change, although other exceptions also apply. Students are given a singular noun, and asked to place it into the correct dustbin. They must determine if, to make the noun plural, an "s" is added, an "es" is added, the "y" is dropped and "ies" is added, or the noun remains the same. This game also gives student's immediate feedback, which allows them to work on this game independently. A number of other tools on this website would also be very helpful in a RLA classroom. Venn diagrams can be used, for example, to allow students to compare and contrast different stories or characters. Teachers can also create an animated book, ask students to create a timeline, use a priority chart to list important factors of a story, or use a "hamburger diagram" to show how writing can flow. The possibilities of this site are endless and, as demonstrated, there are a plethora of ways to apply these activities in a RLA classroom.
Web 2.0 Tool #2: Quizlet
Prefix and Suffix Flashcards
Quizlet is an online tool which focusing on allowing teachers to create online flash cards for use within their classrooms in many subject areas. However, these flashcards are not ordinary flashcards, but rather they have a variety of uses. Students are able to work their way through a series of interactivities as they learn the phrases on these flashcards. For example, in the link listed above, I have created flashcards to allow students to review some prefixes and suffixes and their meanings. Students can begin familiarizing themselves with these flashcards by simply flipping them back and forth, the can begin learning the flashcards by guessing the prefix or suffix which matches the meaning, and finally they can test their knowledge in short answer, multiple choice, or true-false questions. There are also a couple of games that students may play to enhance their engagement in learning these words including a "Scatter" game and a "Space Race." These games can be challenging but are great reviews and motivators for students. These flashcards are easy to create, and may be shared with a group online, such as a group of your students. To create flashcards, a username and password must be created, but the process is quite simplistic. No user-name or password is required to view these cards. There are a variety of ways which this could be used in a RLA classroom. This could be used to assist students are they are reviewing concepts for an upcoming test or quiz, such as a spelling test. Additionally, they can be used to review how words changes, for example, how does a word’s spelling change from its singular form when it becomes plural? (See ClassTools example above.) Another example as to how this game could be used could be to help students determine the part of speech of different words. There are a number of possibilities and the creation of these flashcards can be done in just a few quick minutes!
Cast Book: Penny's Puzzling Plant